Four 2 Ka 1 is a hilarious farce set in the residence of an ultra-rich and socially elite couple. Three nouveau-riche couples gather in the posh residence for a dinner party, celebrating their hosts’ 20th wedding anniversary. When they arrive, they discover that there are no servants in the house, the hostess is missing, and the host has shot himself through the earlobe! Farcical complications arise when, given everyone’s ‘Page 3’ status, they need to do everything possible to conceal the evening’s events from the police and the media. As the confusions and miscommunications mount, the evening spins off into a classic farcical comedy.

Stagecraft Adda serves as a forum for Stagecrafters to ideate and innovate. Right from writing for stage to acting, direction, design or lighting, Stagecraft Adda aims to supplement Stagecraft Theatre with a pool of talented individuals having already proved their mettle on stage. It aims to create a set-up where-in intriguing ideas can be developed by a team of established theatre persons and bright youngsters in collaboration and taken to the next level. Nurturing latent talents and exploring experimental theatre is what the Adda wishes to do, which would otherwise take a backseat in the hustle of setting up a mainstream production.

Every show of Stagecraft Adda involves talented directors presenting 10 minute plays written or adapted by someone within the group, presented with a cast of their own choice; each director, writer and actor adding their own flavour into the mix, bringing about a lovely concoction of “Sugar and Spice”. After four successful editions, we present

Sugar and Spice Round VI

The performances were a huge success.

A medley of 10 plays of 10 minutes each written by 10 writers and directed by 10 directors, presented by 10 talented actors. The plays are:

1) ‘You’re on Hold’

Directed by Onkar Ghare
Written by Nandan Majumdar
Performed by Aishwarya Deotale

“A single woman struggles to give attention to her mother and her best friend while going through troubles of her own.”

2) ‘Let it Go’

Directed by Bianca Nazareth Arya
Written by Arya Diwakar
Performed by Anubhav Gupta

“A man struggles with changing his perspective about his trouble-ridden life.”

3) ‘The Edge of Teen’

Directed by Amol Wakhare
Written by Anjali Mishra
Performed by Isha Shrivastava

“A witty teen gives an up close and personal view of a teenager’s life.”

4) ‘Kuch Pal’

Directed by Krutika Rangari
Written by Saurabh Hardas
Performed by Anadi Sharma

“A dutiful son reminisces about his father while talking to his wheelchair-ridden mother.”

5) ‘Infinite’

Directed by Vinay Pande
Written by Khatija Ferhy
Performed by Kiran Gosavi

“A fisherwoman takes her son along an eventful journey as they look out for fallen stars.”

6) ‘Sab Pagal Ho’

Directed by N V Sharma
Written by Shefali Hardas
Performed by Mustafa Neemuchwala

“An unhinged person is let loose in public, but there is more than what meets the eye.”

7) ‘Who Died First’

Directed by Aditya Bansod
Written by Shantanu Thengdi
Performed by Vijayshree Bajaj

“A tale from the Arabian nights, where a woman mournfully tells the story of her husband.”

8) ‘Haan Mai Jhooth Bolti Hoon’

Directed by Ketaki KaneSalankar
Written by Neelabh Trivedi
Performed by Mrudula Kulkarni

“A clever, street smart woman talks about the art of lying and it’s rightfulness in society.”

9) ‘Batwara’

Directed by Varun Vij
Written by Nitish Chandra
Performed by Rachit Khetan

“A refugee struggles with the decision of whom to abandon when his family is rocked by the 1947 partition.”

10) ‘Thank God!’

Directed by Raveesh Jaiswal
Written by Radhika Joshi
Performed by Shivani Joshi

“A mother dialogues about a morning when her inherent wishes came dramatically true.”

The show was staged on 15th January, 2017 at RGNIIPM Auditorium, Nagpur.

To commemorate William Shakespeare on his 400th death anniversary, Stagecraft Theatre’s next offering is inspired by his highly acclaimed romantic comedy, Much Ado About Nothing.
Set in the vibrant and colourful 70s in Delhi, India, and seen in the context of a time not so distant and yet very definitely past, the play explores Shakespeare’s plot and characters in a time of resurgent national pride post emergency; think Kapil Dev, Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Ambassador cars, Saturday Night Fever – Bee Gees, Bell-bottoms, Campa Cola, Chitrahaar… The plot centers around two couples: Kamal falls in love with Harini and their marriage is agreed upon. Bulbul and Bansi despise love and engage in comic banter, while their friends and family conspire to make them fall in love with each other. Meanwhile, Jagdish, a cousin, contrives a more malicious plot to keep them apart. Placing the story in a different time and place, the play, attempts a refreshing and equally entertaining portrayal, uncovering a new landscape from which to regard the fleeting and the eternal nature of love and life.

Inspired by Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize winning play A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Purple Moon is the story of a Gujarati industrialist family in Juhu, Mumbai, confronted with simmering rivalry, tension, greed, lies, sexuality and death. The emotionally charged, powerful and shifting dynamic of the play traces the life of the Parikhs over the course of an evening. As they struggle to balance love and loathing, truth and lies, intimacy and bondage, they teeter close to the edge, veering now and again towards that thin line that divides us from insanity. The Parikhs are any family, every family, in one way or another.

Stagecraft Adda serves as a forum for Stagecrafters to ideate and innovate. Right from writing for stage to acting, direction, design or lighting, Stagecraft Adda aims to supplement Stagecraft Theatre with a pool of talented individuals having already proved their mettle on stage. It aims to create a set-up where-in intriguing ideas can be developed by a team of established theatre persons and bright youngsters in collaboration and taken to the next level. Nurturing latent talents and exploring experimental theatre is what the Adda wishes to do, which would otherwise take a backseat in the hustle of setting up a mainstream production.

Every show of Stagecraft Adda involves talented directors presenting 10 minute plays written or adapted by someone within the group, presented with a cast of their own choice; each director, writer and actor adding their own flavour into the mix, bringing about a lovely concoction of “Sugar and Spice”. After four successful editions, we present

2) REUNION
An old retired music teacher invites three of his favourite students, who are now working across the world, for snacks one evening. They chat and reconnect, while the teacher reveals the motive behind his invitation.

5) BEACON
A boat, caught in a stormy sea, has aboard it a band of keen hearted, spirited men. Why exactly have they embarked on a seemingly senseless journey? What is it that drives a human being to do crazy things?

6) RUKHSAT
Mother-son bond is the strongest bond, they say. This is a story of one such mother and her son. Where the Mother already has survived a lot, with husband gone and left alone to take care of her only son. They both go through an emotional turmoil.Now her son is leaving too. Let’s see how they overcome this pain. Its all about the one last goodbye.

7) PINOCCHIO 2.0
A thief arrives in the rathods’ neighbourbood and defiantly tells Rahul(rathod) that she’s here to steal. On further acquaintance, Rahul is intrigued about the strange but insightful thief’s motives. As he follows her methods, their seemingly trivial dialogue provides keen insights into the absurd and meaningless. In the end, rahul is baffled to see life stripped of all its meaning.’We knock reality down its very throne’!

Written & Directed by Amol Wakhare
Cast – Amol Wakhare

8) STRANGER
On a strange spooky night, an innocent stranger enters a strange house for help, hoping the stranger inmates to be kind, but is frightened to watch the stranger inmates inviting deadly stranger spirits..what happens next ? …watch out…

9) VIRAASAT
Old age always comes uninvited, so what do you do when you suddenly find yourself out of a job, a job that means the world to you, a job that defines you! You are left heart broken especially at the thought of who will carry your legacy forward….Here is the story of Salim as he deals with a similar dilemma.

10) ADIEU
A father is getting ready to say goodbye to his children, but dawns on the realization that this won’t be a goodbye akin to anything he is hoping for. It’s a play of the notion of emotions, practicality and dysfunction within the boundaries of family.

Based partially on Marcel Achard’s French Play L’Idiote (The Idiot) and the Blake Edwards film of the same name, Stagecraft Theatre’s adaptation of A Shot in the Dark is the story of a spunky, boisterous Anglo-Indian maid servant who is arrested on a charge of murder, having been found unconscious, nude, and clutching a gun, with her lover dead beside her. But this is no ordinary murder case, as the newly appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police soon learns. Everyone’s got something to hide and a series of confessions, denials and other sordid twists fuel this madcap roller coaster ride, right down to its final hilarious moments.

‘Five on a Treasure Island’ is the very first Famous Five adventure, written by the world famous English children’s writer, Enid Blyton, (Blyton’s books have been among the world’s best-sellers since the 1930s and have sold more than 600 million copies), featuring Julian, Dick, Anne, not forgetting tomboy George and her beloved dog, Timmy! There’s a shipwreck off Kirrin Island! But where is the treasure? The Famous Five are on the trail – looking for clues – but they’re not alone! Someone else has got the same idea. Time is running out for the Famous Five; who will follow the clues and get to the treasure first?

Gripped!

On the 18th of February, I had the pleasure of being witness to a true mystery thriller. What better medium than theatre, to unfold, in all its glory, an Agatha Christie suspense! Stagecraft Theatre’s Gumnaam Hai Koi, an adaptation, in Hindi, of ‘And Then There Were None’ had all my senses anchored to the taut intensity on the stage.
Before Gumnaam Hai Koi started, there was a short play by Stagecraft Adda, called ‘Disconnected’. I will say little about this, because I found it too beautiful for words. Beautiful in its quiet, painfull truthfulness. That feeling, when you love something so much that you can’t let go, you simply can’t, you’d rather die than let go…I have never seen it displayed on stage in such clarity. It left me sitting silently, staring ahead, shell-shocked by the blatant honesty of the play. Hats off to Bertha Cusso, for creating a script such as this.
Then, in that tense mood, started the play, Gumnaam Hai koi…
A seaside house on a cliff, the sound of waves lashing against the cliff walls…a house party…a motley, mysterious group of people, each with his own story and complex psychological layers…Oh, Agatha Christie allright!
As a reader, I have always steered clear of literature that comes under the genre of macabre. And yet, Agatha Christie, I am very fond of. I think that’s because, in her work, the primary is the lively psychological play. Her characters are fresh, and very interesting. And how the actors have brought the characters to life! Way over and above anything I could have imagined. There was that gripping tense, scariness, which is fun, in typical Agatha Christie style, and that’s possible to actualise on stage only via phenomenal performances such as I saw on the 18th.
The set had all those doors here and windows there, perfect for the murder story to slowly unfold. The eclectic, island house, coupled with the lighting and sound…I actually got the feeling that it’s a windswept, stormy, seashore landscape outside, while its warm, and very tense, agitated indoors. The sound of seagulls indicating a new morning, a spell of rain to diffuse the tension for a while…how brilliant is that!
There were scenes in candlelight, with only a part of the stage lit and the other in complete darkness. And as the actor, holding a candle, moves towards the other side, a murder is suddenly revealed!!
And the climax? Oh goodness. Scary. Scary as a true Agatha Christie villain. Music and lights are anxious, restless, as a master actor takes us through the twisted working of the murderer’s mind. The mystery unravels and the pieces of the puzzle come together.
The tension goes on building, to a full blown, brilliant psychological drama, and a then a sharp crack of a gun shot, and lights out! And there you are, still gripping you seat, the intensity and unexpectedness of the ending still washing over you. The amazement at such intricate mental complexity still washing over you.